At Veil's End Awaits The Next Great Adventure
by Hopeful Puppy
Summary: Having recieved a new task from Fate in his dreams and with an unpredictable amount of time left for him on this earth, Harry decides to make one final trip to the Ministry's Veil. Before he leaves, however, he shares one final goodbye with his favourite granddaughter.


**So, here's the short I promised in my profile. I would also like to mention that I'm going away for the next 3 days, but I have started gathering my notes for the next chapter of 'Socially Awkward' and I hope to type it up and post something this coming weekend. Let us all hope that this plan/deadline doesn't fall through...**

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An elderly Harry Potter sat in a conjured wooden chair in the Department of Mysteries. The room he was in was dimly lit and very drafty. His black slacks and white collared shirt did little to keep the chill of the stones that made up the room, away from his creaking bones. His emerald green woollen jumper, hand-made with all the care and attention that only a Weasley could give, kept him comfortable. The cobbled room was bare except for a single stone arch in the centre of it. In the arch was a translucent veil that glowed a pale green hue. It was the only light source in the room. Harry sat gazing at it, listening to the veil whisper in the magical breeze.

"Grandad!"

The call of a young woman snapped Harry out of his trance and he glanced behind him to see a pretty young redhead making her way down the stone steps from the door to the room, quickly but carefully. Smiling softly at the sight, Harry stood and banished the chair before turning to greet her.

"So you did come? I'm suddenly very glad I decided to wait."

The woman scowled at him; "You wouldn't have had to wait if you had just come and told me."

He smiled sadly at her, "Part of me hoped you would listen to everyone and not come."

"Fat chance of that happening" she scoffed.

"Minnie, it's not a pleasant sight to see someone you love go through the veil. I know I've been there, remember?" he asked, "I said my goodbyes last night."

His tone was pleading with her to leave and spare them both the heartache. She glared at him, most likely knowing what he was trying to do.

"No one should die alone, especially not you. You've already done it once and I won't let you do it again. I'm going to see you off to the next world, whether you want me to or not" she said defiantly, her tone firm and non-negotiable.

"You just need to add 'Mr. Potter' to the end of that and you'll sound just like your namesake" Harry grumbled.

"That's just what I was aiming for, 'Mr. Potter'" she smirked.

He gave her arm a push in retaliation but laughed lightly at her mischievous nature none the less. With Potter and Weasley blood running through her veins, she'd never be anything less.

The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence and relished in each others company for the moment as time ceased to matter.

"Fate's a bit-"

"Minnie" Harry warned.

"What?" she huffed indignantly, "she is."

"And she seems to be very proud of that fact, but I still wouldn't say that to her face if I met her."

"You did meet her," Minnie muttered.

Harry continued on as if she hadn't spoken, "Besides, there's no need to tempt Fate with our luck, Minnie."

"Yes, Grandad," she intoned.

There was a pause, as the duo stood in the dim light of the drafty room. The veil shimmered enticingly in front of them, though only Harry could hear the whispers of those beyond it. This was a well-known fact among the Potter-Black clan.

"What do they say?" the young woman whispered.

Those who are coming to the end of their life among the living can often hear the indistinct whispers of the veil, many of them comparing it to the rustling of autumn leaves. Over the years, the voices of the dead had become a lot clearer to Harry due, in part, to his life long experience with death and the Deathly Hallows. His long time friend Luna Lovegood had a similar ability, through her childhood experience with the death of her mother. Though Luna did admit to not being able to interpret the whispers as well as Harry.

Due to his unique circumstances, Harry could clearly distinguish between the souls of his loved ones, the souls of his ancestors and the souls of everyone else.

He chuckled at the thought of everyone else. That was more than a few people if he was honest. Minnie, one of his youngest grandchildren, gave him a curious look. He smiled softly at her and gave a sheepish shrug, turning to gaze at the veil.

"Our loved ones are waiting patiently for us. Ginny sends her love. Our ancestors are waiting impatiently to meet us. My grandmother Dorea is complaining that she hasn't even met me and now I have my own grandchildren. And everyone else is watching over us, muttering about all the silly things we've done" he explained, smiling somewhat indulgently at the veil, before turning back to her; "Professor McGonagall is very proud of you."

Minnie grinned happily, warmth filling her with the knowledge that the old Professor was watching over her and that she was making her namesake proud. She sobered as a thought crossed her mind and bit her lip worriedly.

"Can you hear everyone's voice? Even him?" she asked uncertainly.

There was another pause as Harry closed his eyes to listen and think. Another moment and Minnie opened her mouth to retract her question, but was cut off.

"I learned how to block out his voice and others like it a long time ago. Even now I can only her their dark murmurings. I can't even make out words; it's just white noise. Or black noise as the case may be, though I don't believe it's coming from the veil" Harry mused.

Minnie huffed angrily at him in response; "I didn't mean for you to actively seek out the snake's voice. A simple yes or no answer would have sufficed."

"Well then you should've said that. Imagine, my own granddaughter asking me to listen for the soul of a defeated Dark Lord! What is the world coming to?" Harry grinned cheekily.

"Grandad" was the whining, embarrassed response. Harry laughed and pulled her into a hug so she could bury her mortified face into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Minnie. If it makes you feel any better, Minerva is scolding me for teasing you," he said good-naturedly, humour still coating his every word.

They stood embracing each other in the drafty, dimly lit room in the Department of Mysteries, as their good mood was washed away by the somber realisation of what was about to occur. Minnie hugged her grandfather tighter as her tears threatened to fall. Harry sighed, tightening his own hold on her.

"I'm sorry, Minnie" he apologised again quietly.

"I don't want you to go," she croaked into his woolly jumper.

"I know Minnie, but you can't deny that this has been coming for a long time now. You've known much longer than anyone else if I recall."

"But why can't Fate leave you alone?" she sniffed, her head still buried in his shoulder. "You won't even be going to see Gran because Fate wants you to do a job. Why can't you say no? Why can't you stay?"

She began to cry in earnest as her frustration and grief made itself known. He allowed her a moment before he sighed again sadly.

"Because it wouldn't be fair to _me_."

Minnie tensed in his arms and raised her head. Her slightly puffy green eyes met his. They were the same as his, right down to the almond shape. Combined with her fiery red hair, she was the splitting image of his mother. The spirit of Lily Potter had lived on through his family. He smiled at the thought.

"Minnie, I'm old. I've been old since I was seventeen and that was neither today nor yesterday" she gave an amused huff at his saying and his smile turned a little bit happier.

"But a hundred and-"

"Yes, Minnie, I know it isn't extraordinarily old but," he sighed again, trying to think of a way to explain his ancient feeling to his young granddaughter, "I'm tired, Minnie. I'm tired of feeling old. I didn't notice it when Ginny was here but its been getting harder since she passed and it doesn't help that I nearly buried a son the year after-"

"But you didn't" Minnie protested.

"You're right, but it was close" he stated in a soft but firm tone. She looked down at his jumper, conceding defeat on the subject. Harry continued.

"It was close and that thought has haunted me for the passed decade. How long will it be before I do bury one of my children? Or worse one of my grandchildren?"

"She started at the question and looked up to his eyes again; "But you can't possibly live that long!"

"We don't know that, Minnie. I already exceeded the expectations of many by surviving past my twentieth birthday and I haven't been aging like everyone else. I still look like I'm only in my mid to late sixties."

"You do look remarkably well for your age," Minnie mused slyly. They shared a small chuckle and then became silent.

"I'll miss you," she whispered after a moment.

"And I'll miss you, but you _will_ see me again. Always remember that."

"But that won't be for a long time."

"I should certainly hope not" Harry muttered mutinously and Minnie raised an eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes at her look.

"You have your own life to live. I've lived mine. I've been there, done that and I've got the Weasley jumpers to prove it," He grinned, "It's time for me to move on to my next great adventure so you can have your own."

Minnie huffed before hiccupping and burying her face in his jumper again. She hugged him tight as he stroked her fiery hair one last time.

"I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, Grandad."

A warm wind blew through the room towards the veil and Harry sighed again, sad and resigned.

"It's time for me to go" he said softly.

Minnie nodded mournfully and squeezed him one last time before letting him go. Wiping her tears she watched him walk towards the stone arch in the middle of the room. Just before he reached it, he turned back to her.

"Do one last thing for me?" he questioned hopefully. She rolled her eyes in exasperation and nodded a bit reluctantly. He grinned;

"I have a long standing bet with your father that you'll become a Professor. I'd rather not owe him twenty galleons, so if you could just show me some favouritism or maybe just not become a sports commentator, that'd be great."

Minnie blinked. Then blinked again. Then threw her head back and laughed uproariously through her tears. Harry smiled savouring the memory of her happy laugh and smiling face.

He turned, still listening to her laugh and walked into the veil. He walked into the beyond to meet Fate and start his next great adventure.

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**So, just a few little notes about this one; I have been vague about a lot of things in this short, namely Harry's age, which of his children could've died and who Minnie's parents are, for the main reason that it's not really relevent. What matters here is the relationship the two characters share. I will, however, mention that Harry has been affected by the Deathly Hallows. Neither the reader nor the characters know whether Harry is immortal or just long lasting (something I like to call 'The Green Mile' Effect) because again its not relevant. Harry's not sticking around on this earth long enough to find out.  
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**I decided to post this after leaving it mournfully on my laptop for many months waiting to continue the story as a Peter Pan crossover. I'm of the belief its a perfectly good one-shot and prelude to many things on it's own. As of this moment, it is also not a priority story.**

**I'm debating however on whether or not to leave this as a single chapter prelude or add the chapters onto this one, when I get around to continuing the story. If I add the chapters on, the story will be moved to the crossover section and might have a name change (because I'm really proud of the original title, damnit, and I want to show it off!) **

**So, please do tell me your thoughts in a review if you please!**

**Hope you enjoyed it regardless :)**


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